Why Do You Think He Wears a Mask?
by ohayouochinchin
Summary: OFF High School AU. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Why do you think he wears a mask?"

"Maybe he's just weird like he runs the school store for fun? Who does that?"

"I heard that he has really creepy scars under it. Like his dad used to really fuck him up. I'm talking Joker-status like legit cuts up the sides of his mouth."

"Yeah! Wasn't his father arrested over break?"

"What do you think, Batter?"

"Yo, Batter, you there, man?"

He had only been half listening to what his friends around him were saying. All anyone wanted to talk about was Zacharie. He had been a pretty normal kid, flew under the radar mostly, until summer break ended. He came back to school wearing masks. It was strange and no one understood. The only thing people noticed was that he was quieter than before and teachers never told him to take it off. He didn't tell anyone the real reason he wore a mask, so all the students had to work with was their imagination; not that the truth played much into rumors regardless.

"I dunno, he's probably just a psycho or something." Batter added his comment, sending his friends back into a flurry of speculation. It didn't matter much what Batter said, as long as it went with the topic, all he needed was a quick negative assertion, then the others would take over from there.

It didn't matter what Batter had to say because he never had much of an opinion to assert. He was captain of the renowned Purity High School baseball team and his personality wasn't exceptional. That didn't stop him from being one of the most popular students. He was cool. People referring to him by his surname, which ironically suited his abilities as well, only made him seem more mysterious and likeable. He seemed bored most of the time, but that just made people try harder to impress him. He was good at baseball, not deep conversation.

As far as Zacharie went, anyone who knew anything about the two could say they were something of opposites. Zacharie didn't have an athletic bone in his body and certainly didn't partake in organized sports. To those he talked to, he was quite the conversationalist. He made his few close friends laugh on a daily basis. He had a bit of a temper, which typically comes with strong opinions, but he was good at keeping his mouth shut when he thought it best.

He was different and seemed introverted, so nobody, including Batter, had much of an opinion of him. That was true, until senior year.

The bell rang, rushing the students towards the door, but not stopping their gossip. Batter slung his backpack over his shoulder and began making his way out, sandwiched between his friends and their gossip.

"Mr. Batter, I need to speak to you before you leave." The teacher's voice cut through the din and Batter froze in his steps. His friends chuckled and elbowed him before leaving the room, tossing 'good-luck' and 'you're screwed' grins over their shoulders.

Batter turned on his heel, walking up to Elsen's desk with a familiar dread, "Something you need, Ms. E?" He questioned, clutching the strap of his backpack. He waited for the all too frequent lecture about his horrible math grades.

"Take a seat." She said coolly and he quickly obeyed. He figured this was going to be lengthy if he had to sit for it, "Mr. Batter, you understand that you've failed every math class since your freshman year, correct?" He nodded, as if that was something he wouldn't know, "Well, i'll tell you a few things I know in turn. I know you're head of the baseball team. I know that if you were to get kicked off because of your grades, the entire school, not just you, would pay for it."

"I also know that a student from Advanced Placement calculus would be more than happy to tutor you. So, I'm willing to make a deal. If you agree to meet with your tutor everyday after baseball practice, and manage to get above failing for this year, I'll see to the rest. I need to see a real effort out of you Mr. Batter. Does this sound fair?"

Batter knew he had no choice. The only thing he had going for him was his baseball. He knew how close he was to being booted from the team last year. No matter how hard he tried to get his grades in order, they just seemed to slip away from him. Nothing made sense. Math was just too concrete for him.

He obediently nodded once more and stood up from his seat. The teacher extended her hand and when he shook it, he felt as though he was sealing a deal with hell itself; signing away all of his freedom and happiness to a math book of riddles he could never solve.

"Your tutor will meet you after practice today. I hope you didn't have plans."

"Of course not, Miss. Thank you for helping me out." He smiled, his words burning like vomit, clawing up his throat.

The day went by agonizingly fast; different from how it would typically drag. It was like the entire universe stopped just to concentrate every force on getting Batter to his tutor. Or at least that's how it seemed to him.

"Dude, the bell's already rung. Get your ass in gear, we got practice." Tim gripped his arm, tugging him forward as Sam pushed him in the back. "Do you know how pissed coach would be if you even thought of being late? On the first day?"

Batter knew perfectly well how much trouble he would be in. He also knew that he had never been late to practice before, so those worries were irrelevant. It wasn't practice he was dreading; it was the tutor afterwards.

"So what did Elsen chew you out for this time? Fail another test?" Batter shrugged as though the question or the answer meant nothing to him.

"I have to get tutored after practice now." He responded briefly and shrugged again, though this was more to cover a shutter than emotion.

Both of his friends loudly voiced their dissatisfaction, shouting and groaning for Batter, "How the hell could she do that to you, man? What a bitch!" One would growl and another would chip in, "I'd kill myself if I had to study extra math with some fucking AP dork!" This was their way of showing sympathy, but all it did was increase the horror with which Batter anticipated his tutoring session.

Practice was a breeze, outside of the anxiety Batter felt welling up inside of him. Of course, he wasn't late and the coach was excited to see him. They ran their laps, they went through the motions that Batter knew in his heart of hearts. If he didn't have the stress of extra math to worry about, he could have lost himself in the sport he loved as he always did. This was where he thrived, not a classroom.

Though that meant little, as the world expected perfection and Batter tried to deliver. Throughout practice, all he could think of was that pressure:

_ Mr. Batter, you understand that you've failed every math class..._

_ Get your ass in gear!_

_ Fail another test?_

_ I'd kill myself!_

"Holy shit." Someone whispered, as he hurried through the locker room door. Batter looked over, toweling his hair dry and slipping his baseball cap back onto his head. The same guy gestured to another person on the team, "You'll never guess who's outside."

"Who?" Another boy shimmied over to the door, holding his towel up with one hand and pushing his friend with the other as he tried to get a look.

"Do you need me to tell you? Like, who else dresses like that?" The first boy rolled his eyes and turned to Batter, "Battman, there's someone out there for you. They said they're your tutor or something. Mad creepy, dude..."

Batter got up slowly, being sure not to rush and risk looking interested. The boys at the door parted to let him through and he stopped in the doorway upon seeing his tutor. He was shocked, but knew this had to be a mistake. It absolutely had to be a mistake.


	2. Chapter 2

"There you are. You've kept me waiting long enough." She spoke quickly and with a purpose, as if she had been waiting hours instead of minutes. Batter was a slip away from actually apologizing to her. Though he had never spoken to this girl before, she was intimidating.

Sugar was not a girl to be inconvenienced by much of anything. If there wasn't extra credit in the deal, she certainly wouldn't be spending her time tutoring a lost cause with a bloated sense of self entitlement. She wasn't necessarily strict, but rather she demanded respect. Her strength of character played well off of her closest friend's, Zacharie's, strength of wit.

Though, this wasn't something you'd pick up immediately from the lanky girl with a toddler's bob-cut and clashing clothes that you'd most easily find in a circus.

Batter nodded, mildly confused by the paradox that was his new tutor, "Hey... Are you my tutor?" He questioned despite already knowing the answer. The girl's face, level to his own, bloomed an unsettling frown. She rolled her eyes in calm annoyance, lifting her backpack up from the ground and beginning towards the school library. Sugar motioned for him to follow and Batter, reluctantly, pursued.

"I'm going to assume you don't know who I am. We haven't been in a class together since, what, sixth grade?" She thought aloud and briefly looked to Batter for confirmation, "I guess you wouldn't remember. My name's Sugar." She introduced herself as she opened the library's entrance.

"Batt-"

"Batter." She finished for him with a quick grin and seated herself at the nearest empty table, "I don't think there are too many people in this school who don't know who you are." Batter sat down after her, regretting this even more than he had previously. Nobody had the guts to ever cut him off before. It was a strange feeling; being at the focal point of a conversation he couldn't get one word in.

"But enough of the introductions. You're in pre-calculus, right?" She spoke without eye contact, too busy spreading out papers.

Batter nodded, but then realized she wasn't looking, "Yeah. We're doing triggermetry."

"You mean trigonometry?"

"Probably." He looked down, embarrassed.

Sugar, though focused mainly on her papers, was watching him still. She noticed how uncomfortable he looked and felt a mild sympathy. Math came easily to her, but she understood that it would be unpleasant to have to work at it.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring in her pocket. Batter looked up just in time to see her vanish from the table, only leaving a quick, "Excuse me." as she rushed off. Batter wanted to run away too. He was embarrassed to be tutored to start with, but to have no control at the same time? It was a blessing when his own phone vibrated.

This sense of relief was short lived however:

_ Where r u?_

**_Tutoring, y?_**

_I need u to come to my place. Now._

**_Queenie, I cant just leave_**

_NOW_

Batter leaned back in his seat and sighed. He couldn't leave his tutoring session and he couldn't not go to Queenie's. He knew better than to ignore her.

Batter had been dating Queenie since freshman year. They were the power-couple of Purity High. She was beautiful and wealthy and no one questioned her happiness. However, only her family and Batter knew that she was a balloon full to burst with sorrow and rage. Batter slowly but surely learned of Queenie's bipolarism after they began dating. After that point, no matter how bad her fits were, he couldn't bring himself to leave her.

So, he was in a situation; either he would wait for Sugar to return and his tutoring to end or he would ditch out to respond to Queenie's command.

* * *

"You _bastard_! I can not _believe_ that you would be "tutoring" with some girl!" Queenie screamed and picked up the nearest object of weight, tossing it at Batter as he stood at the threshold of her room. He flinched out of the way and ducked into the room, "How could you! How could you!" She chanted at a deafening tone.

Only seconds after, tears sprung from her eyes in an overwhelming flood, "I thought I could trust you!_ Three years_! Why do you hate me!?" She pleaded and fell to her knees at the foot of her bed, splaying across it like a queen sprawled out over her throne.

Batter kneeled down next to her, "You know I don't hate you. It was tutoring for math, that's it." He reassured her, never quite knowing what to say. Naturally, he spoke very little. This was enough for Queenie to cling on to though.

Queenie slowly looked up from the flush pink satin of her bed covers that, due to her tantrum, matched the color of her face exactly. She sniffled and wiped the leakage from her face onto the sleeve of her shirt, "Really?" She blinked a few times then continued, "What was her name?"

"It was Sugar or something." He complied, acting as though he could hardly remember any girl's name outside of Queenie's. He was happy to see her calmer.

"Sugar?! Are you serious?! The one that looks like Ronald McDonald and the Salvation Army fucked and had a kid?" Queenie sputtered out between laughs and Batter smiled along.

"That's the one."

"Hah! And I thought you were cheating on me!" She wrapped her arms around Batter and hugged him tightly, "I guess it looks like I did you a favor by getting you out of that freak show."

Batter agreed, but he knew ditching his tutor would blow back up in his face.

* * *

Sugar rushed out of the library, just in case this was something no one else could hear. It wasn't exactly the best timing, but she had never ignored a call from Zacharie before and she wasn't about to start now.

"Zach, what's up?" She spoke first in an authoritative manner. It was a toss up when it came to the situation she'd hear from Zacharie. Everything could be fine and he could just be calling to talk, or he could be on the edge of self harm. She cared about him and couldn't take a chance.

"Nothing really, amiga. Though I was wondering if you were busy right now." Sugar turned the phone away so that she could sigh in relief. Sugar smiled widely, which she reserved mainly for Zacharie, and put the phone back to her ear.

"I actually am. I'm tutoring someone for their math class."

"Wow, aren't you a saint."

"Shut up. I'll be free in an hour, does that work for you?"

"Sounds excellent to me. See you then?"

"Yes, sir." She ended her call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Taking a breath, she turned around and went back inside the library. Sugar's life was lonely. She was the only child of two parents who, though they loved her deeply, couldn't seem to relate to her. Having Zacharie around eased that loneliness and she knew that she could ease his loneliness as well.

So she didn't expect to be so shocked when she saw the empty table. He had left; no big deal. She didn't know why, but the empty table made a small pain form in her chest.

She pulled back out her phone:

"Calling back already? I thought you were busy tutoring?"

"Can you pick me up now?"

"Yeah, sure. See you in a bit."

"See you."


	3. Chapter 3

"Mr. Batter, I'm sure you know why you're in trouble." Ms. Elsen was correct in her assumption. Batter knew perfectly well why he was about to be lectured, but he didn't really need to be told again. Since he had ditched out on Sugar that night, he felt guilty. Even if he believed he didn't have a choice with Queenie, he still couldn't help but feel bad.

"I'm real sorry, Ms. E, it was an emerg-"

"Honestly, Mr. Batter, I don't want to hear it. It's your future, not mine. You're just lucky that your tutor was open to giving you another chance. I highly recommend you apologize to her and make an effort not to leave in the middle of another one of your tutoring sessions."

An uncomfortable silence settled in and gave Batter a chance to feel even worse. He had left this girl without so much as a word and she was apparently still willing to give him a chance.

"Do you know where she lives?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you know where she lives?" He repeated himself and Ms. Elsen batted her eyes in confusion.

"Yes," She said slowly, "But that's not information I can really give to you." Batter slumped a bit in his seat. It was difficult for Batter to feel like he'd failed at anything, let alone failed another person. It was more a guilt of failure than a guilt of conscience.

Ms. Elsen looked at Batter for a moment, thinking about how he seemed disappointed. In her mind, he must have felt truly guilty for having wronged Sugar, not his overwhelming desire to succeed. There was no other explanation. Batter rarely showed much emotion, even when faced with being kicked off the baseball team.

Now he was showing emotion over his studies...

* * *

Batter stared at the wooden door in front of him. He was hesitant to knock, not knowing if he really wanted to speak to the girl that would open it. He knew he had to apologize one way or another; being kicked off the team was not an option he was willing to take. Now that he was at the girl's door, however, it was a bit harder than what he had it imagined it would be.

With a great pain to his ego, he lifted his fist and knocked on the door. It only took a moment for him to hear approaching footsteps; a girl's light footsteps.

When he heard the doorknob turn, he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes as the door opened, as if he was bracing for a punch. He was by no means used to issuing apologies.

He opened his mouth and the words poured out like a waterfall of discomfort, "Hey, Sugar. I'm not so good at this, so just let me get it out. I'm really sorry I ditched out on you the other day. It was a family emergency, I guess. Like I said, though. I'm sorry." He internally cringed and it showed clearly on his face.

A moment of quiet passed and Batter began to wonder if she was ignoring him.

"Well, I'd say that would probably be enough to get the door slammed in your face."

Batter opened his eyes instantaneously. That was... Not a girl's voice.

He looked forward to see a boy, about a foot shorter than himself, leaning against the threshold. As his eyes drifted down, the first thing Batter saw was messy black hair. Then, the mask that the hair was surrounding and falling over.

"You wanna tell me why you're here to bother my friend again?" Zacharie asked, not hiding any sort of aggravation from seeping into his words. Just as Sugar cared for him, Zacharie cared for Sugar. Though, he typically didn't have to watch out for Sugar the way she watched out for him.

Batter stood there, sputtering. He didn't know what to do, what to say. He never expected to have to speak to a middleman. Apologizing to Sugar was something manageable; awkward, but manageable. However, explaining his actions to a pissed off friend of her's...

Zacharie huffed a little and stepped back, "You really are dumb, aren't you?" He began to close the door after him, but Batter quickly reached out and stopped it before it shut.

"Wait!" He shouted and Zacharie froze up for a moment, not expecting a word, especially a loud one, to come from Batter, "Just wait a second, please." Batter was still processing what to say, what he needed to do in order to make this situation work out alright.

Zacharie stood there for a moment, staring dumbfounded at Batter's face. After a few more seconds had passed, he opened the door fully again, "Well? What do you want?" He asked, more confused now than angry.

That was enough to get Batter's mouth moving again, though, that sometimes wasn't the smartest thing, "I want to apologize to Sugar for, uh-"

"For abandoning her while she was trying to help you?"

"Yeah, that." Batter quickly agreed to what Zacharie said, as he couldn't put it together himself.

Zacharie took another hard look at Batter and, as if the guy had done anything to prompt it, suddenly forgave him, "You know, Sugar isn't even here right now." He spoke as if he was still angry, but really, he just didn't know how to de-escalate his verbal emotion as quickly as his mind had.

"I'll come back later then."

Zacharie smirked under his mask, "She'll be back in a few minutes..."

"I'll wait out here."

"Its pretty cold out..."

"I'll wait in my car."

"You don't seem to be picking up on the invitation to wait inside..."

"Really, I can just come back-" Batter stopped himself this time. When did this transition into something friendly? Batter blamed the mask; there was no way he could tell what Zacharie was thinking if he had his face covered.

Zacharie moved backwards, allowing room for Batter to enter the house. Batter continued to stand there, his feet seemingly glued to the dirty "Welcome" mat in front of the door. 99 percent of him didn't want to go into the house of the circus girl with the rumored psychopath, but that other part of him was far too curious to pass up the chance.

As Batter moved through the doorway, he was surprised that the 1 percent had won out over every natural survival instinct he was born with.

Yet, much to his disappointment, he found nothing other than a normal house inside. There were stairs, not slides, and walls, not distorting mirrors; walls with average family portraits on them, no less. There were no animals running around, only white carpets, and the kitchen had no apparent cotton candy machine.

Batter was snapped out of his realization by a small laugh behind him, "You look so disappointed. What did you expect, an indoor carnival?" Batter was close to saying how that was exactly what he expected.

Zacharie walked past Batter and gestured for him to follow, "Come on. Sugar's place is actually pretty great." Batter had come this far and, though there was no circus, he felt compelled to follow where Zacharie led.


	4. Chapter 4

Sugar opened the front door to her house, expecting relative silence. Her parents were on a joint business trip for the next few days and the only one home was Zacharie; though, the house usually didn't bustle with activity, even with her parents present.

So, hearing laughter and the sounds of Grand Theft Auto coming from the theater room was a bit of a surprise. She took off her jacket and her shoes, ever the while listening to the sound effects coming from the other side of the house.

Sugar's parents made a considerable amount of money, both having high ranks in their respective companies. This income allowed for luxuries, such as the home theater Batter and Zacharie were in now, but left a certain museum-like emptiness without a whole family living inside it.

Sugar cracked open the theater door and peered inside, seeing Zacharie's distinctive hair spike up from behind a seat. However, she didn't expect to see someone next to him; someone wearing a familiar baseball hat.

"Batter, drive faster."

"I can't control the goddamn car if its going too fast."

"Well, you're gonna get us killed by the fucking Albanian mob if you don't drive faster."

"Don't backseat drive, dude."

Batter? Like, Batter; the conceited jerk? Sugar thought to herself as she quietly made her way to the front of the theater where they were sitting. She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that he was inside her house.

"Excuse me?" She announced her presence to a mixed reaction. Batter flinched upon hearing her voice, unintentionally tossing his controller. Zacharie kept his eyes on the game until 'failed mission' popped up on the screen. He turned to Sugar with a covered smile.

"Hey, amiga!"

"What's he doing here?" Sugar asked in a tone that warned, "Don't 'hey amiga' me".

Zacharie put down his controller and leaned back in his seat, "He had something to say to you, so I let him wait here until you got back." He turned to Batter as if to hand over conversation to him.

Batter was still a little shocked from her sudden appearance. As he stood up, it started to hit him that he was in her house, playing her video games and eating her Doritos. He nervously wiped the cheese coloring off onto his pants and tried to make eye contact.

Sugar was already staring at him with her typical authoritative glare. He took a second to collect his words, "Uh, I came by to apologize for ditching out on you the other day. Also, thanks for telling Ms. Elsen that you would still tutor me. I, uh, kinda got a lot riding on this."

"If it matters so much why did you leave?"

Batter wasn't expecting that question, "Oh, um, my girlfriend-"

"Nevermind." She quickly cut him off, "I don't want to hear it."

The few seconds of silence that passed went by with a tense slowness. Zacharie looked from Batter to Sugar, Sugar to Batter, waiting for one of them to break the tension.

"Next week. Monday. I'll be there after your practice like last time." Sugar crossed her arms and looked away, almost as if agreeing to help was a sign of weakness, "If you leave again, I promise I won't give you another chance."

Batter stared for a moment, stunned that she would still help him. His stillness cracked as a slight grin turned up at the corners of his lips, "Alright." He said shortly, turned on his heel, and left.

Sugar continued to stare as he walked out, stunned as well.

"The Great Sugar, spreading love and charity wherever she goes." Zacharie's voice brought back Sugar's focus, "We should really apply you for sainthood." Zacharie lightly chuckled and Sugar turned to face him, looking down with a dubious expression.

"So, I see you and Batter are best buddies now, aren't you?" Sugar asked critically and Zacharie shrunk a bit under her gaze.

"I can talk to him and not be his 'best buddy'. Why do you even care?"

"Oh, no reason. I'm just very curious as to why you were sitting here, playing GTA and fucking eating Doritos with a walking, breathing dildo really i'm just curious." She rambled out and sat down heavily next to Zacharie.

Zacharie couldn't help but to laugh at that, "Are you jealous? Afraid you'll lose your best friend to a dildo?" Sugar swiftly punched him in the arm as he continued to laugh.

"I just don't like him. Even before I started tutoring him, I got this feeling that he really couldn't give a shit less about anyone other than himself." Sugar shook her head and picked up the controller Batter had used, starting up the game.

Zacharie shrugged and leaned back in his seat, "I think you've got him wrong. I think he cares too much."

* * *

"Battman, dude, how've you been? We haven't seen you outside of practice in ages." Sam popped his gum and looked over to Batter from the ground. He watched as Batter hit baseball after baseball with intimidating precision at the batting cage.

"Yeah, all you do is get tutored. I hear its pissing Queenie right off." Tim added and tapped away at his IPhone, his face ducked down to better see his texts.

For a moment, Batter considered hitting the next baseball so that it would crack Tim's nose, "Its not like I have a choice. Do you think I like being tutored?" Batter's voice was steady as always.

The truth was that, by the two month mark, Batter did enjoy being tutored. His grades in precalculus remained at a steady C- and everyone was glad to hear it. Though, how much of that was from his grades and how much was from Ms. Elsen was debatable. From that immediate moment, there was no threat of Batter being kicked off of the team.

"No? Why would anyone want to sit there being barked at by cirque du skank?" Sam laughed and Batter cringed internally. That was another part of the tutoring he had grown to like.

"And what about her fucking Hello Kitty henchman?" This time Batter cringed physically, hitting the baseball with a spastic downward arc.

"I heard he's so fucking ugly under his mask that-" _Whack!_

The baseball struck Tim directly in the nose, causing an uneasy crack to go through the air. It took a moment for all three of the boys to realize what had just happened. The shock really didn't come from Tim's broken nose, but from the fact that Batter had swung a bad hit. They were all motionless, even after blood started to run from Tim's nose.

Of course, shock couldn't hold off the pain of a broken bone for long, as Tim soon started cussing and sobbing. Sam hopped up from the ground and rushed to where Tim was shaking. Batter hurried over as well, wondering if what he had done was an accident or not.

* * *

"So I heard that Tim Dedan got you so mad that you broke his nose with one punch." Zacharie wondered aloud and stretched his legs out further over Batter's lap.

"Come on, does that even sound like Bat? We can hardly get him to multiply let alone feel." Sugar joked, giving Zacharie a side glance from the opposite couch.

Batter shrugged, "We were in the batting cage and they said stuff that messed me up. I made a bad swing and the ball broke Tim's nose. I didn't do it on purpose."

"Bullshit." You could hear the knowing grin in Zacharie's voice as he sat up, "You never miss. What were they talking about?"

"Nothing."

"And nothing messed you up?"

"Yeah."


	5. Chapter 5

Queenie opened the door to her walk-in closet slowly and deliberately, letting the door creak to make sure Batter was paying attention. She stepped out of the dark of the closet, allowing herself to be entirely visible. She closed it and leaned her back against the door. Grinning, she toyed with the bow on the front of her corset.

"Do you like it? It's brand new. I got it custom made because I know you only like white white, not off-white." She tried to gauge his reaction, but that was a mistake. Typically, he'd give her something to work with; maybe a smile or his eyes might open a bit wider. This time though, as he sat there on her bed, he did nothing but stare.

She tried to ignore the vacancy in his eyes, sauntering forward like the royalty she was nicknamed after. She sat down on his lap and smiled despite the deep insecurity building inside of her. After he didn't even move to touch her, she stood up in a huff.

Batter looked at her with mild shock, "What's wrong?" He asked, but this question only served to anger her further.

"What's wrong?" She repeated after him with venom dripping from her words, "_What's wrong?_ I should be asking you that question! What the hell is wrong with _you_?!" He stared at her with confused doe-like eyes and she felt sick.

She slapped him across the face and neither of them was sure what had happened. His cheek began to redden and so did her hand and it was so new and unusual that Queenie wasn't sure where to go after that. She decided to slap him again.

"This is the first time we've spent any time together in the last month. _One time_ and I try my best to make it special. I buy a goddamn four hundred dollar corset for this night; I haven't eaten in two days because I wanted to fit it just right for you." She took a haggard breath that only seemed to fan the flame of rage that was eating away at her, "And all you can do is stare and ask what's wrong with me?"

Batter held his cheek and stood up from her bed. She backed away, giving him room, as she realized she had been shouting in his face. He turned away from her and towards the door, causing a sudden panic to settle into the center of Queenie's gut.

"No, don't leave!" She pleaded in a tone that still carried a considerable anger. As she took a moment to acclimate, her voice took on less of a plea, and more of an accusation, "It just figures that you'd leave! All you do is leave me alone! You hang out with those rejects and you don't even care that I have no one to be with. You know how hard it is for me!"

Batter froze. He could still feel the sting radiating from his cheek, but it hurt less than her words, "I have no one but you! Mom and dad give me a credit card and tell me to go play. My friends tell me how lucky I am to have you, but they don't know how lonely you make me feel!" Batter shuddered; a heavy guilt working its way up his spine.

"Look at me!" She yelped and Batter followed her command, turning to look at her with the same placid look he always bore, "Now come here." Batter staggered over to where she was standing.

"Kiss me." Batter leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against Queenie's. She reached her arms up and around Batter's neck and sighed, "Don't leave me..."

* * *

A sudden nudge into Batter's side drew him quickly out of thought. He looked over in time to see Zacharie stumble a bit to the side, having knocked himself over more than he had moved Batter; a consequence of their size difference.

"Hey there, Bat." Zacharie quickly straightened up and walked next to Batter, hurrying a bit to keep in pace with Batter's stride. He kept quiet for a moment, then spoke quietly, "How did your talk with Queenie go last night?"

Batter didn't respond immediately, not wanting to admit anything about what happened that night. He took a breath and looked away, "I wasn't able to talk to her. She, uh, didn't wanna talk." He spoke briefly, "I'm sorry."

Zacharie looked to Batter and tilted his head in confusion. He hardly thought an apology was necessary, "Well, it's ok. I know its gotta be hard to tell her something like that. I know-" Zacharie stopped talking when he saw the light bruising on Batter's cheek. A rush of understanding and empathy jolted through him.

Zacharie took a hold of Batter's arm and pulled him into the nearest empty classroom. Sam Japhet followed them with his eyes from across the hallway. He turned to the girl he was talking to, jutting a thumb in their direction, "Did you just see that?" The girl shook her head as Sam stared at the door.

"What's wrong?" Batter asked with a feeling of Déjà vu. Zacharie let go of his arm and shut the door behind them. He stared at Batter for a long moment, considering what would be the best thing to do. Batter flinched when Zacharie moved towards him, only to find himself wrapped up in his arms.

Batter was rigid at first, but soon relaxed, allowing Zacharie to hug him. He was as unresponsive as usual, but Zacharie wasn't discouraged by this. Instead, his compassion turned to embarrassment as he released Batter and stepped away.

Zacharie looked to Batter, confident that his blush was hidden under his mask, "Listen, I think after three months of being attached at the hip, I've gathered a thing or two about you. You don't like the color orange, your socks never match unless you're in your baseball uniform, you like really bad rap, and you care way too much about disappointing people."

Batter still refused to look at Zacharie, "You worry about your baseball, you worry about your grades, you worry about what blockheads like Tim Dedan say, and you worry about me and Sugar. I get that, but its toxic. It'll eat you up inside, but you're gonna disappoint people in your life, Bat."

"You can't make everyone happy and I think the first thing you need to worry about is yourself. You don't deserve things like this," Zacharie reached up and touched the bruise on Batter's cheek, causing him to wince, "You deserve someone who loves you unconditionally and I think I can do that for you. I won't rush you to tell Queenie about it. Just know that if you want me, you're going to have to disappoint a lot of people..."

Zacharie dropped his hand and looked at Batter, who still didn't look back at him. He turned and left the classroom. Batter felt his face heat up a bit and his eyes start to prickle slightly.

This was the first time he had felt like crying since he had broken his ankle in the eighth grade.


	6. Chapter 6

"Sugar, this is really bad. I-I think I messed up really bad." Sugar's breath caught in her throat as she heard the unstable tone of Zacharie's voice. She held her phone close to her ear and sat down on her bed.

"Calm down; whatever you did, it can't be that bad." Sugar tried to keep the situation from escalating any further than where he was already, but it was hard to be strong for Zacharie when she was nervous as well, "Tell me what's wrong."

"I know why Batter's ignoring us!" Sugar wanted to groan in frustration upon hearing this. It was all Zacharie seemed to worry about and Zacharie _did not_ need to be worrying about that idiot. Sugar was upset as well; she missed Batter in her own way and wondered why he was being so distant, but not on Zacharie's scale. Still, she understood why he'd be so disturbed, "It's because I was too pushy. I couldn't just let him deal with Queenie at his own pace, no, I had to take him to the fucking side and lecture him!"

Zacharie's voice shook as he tried to figure out why this was happening. In his mind, the only logical reason could be that he did something wrong, "I just... God, Sugar, you should have seen him! He was shaking! I honestly think he thought I was going to hit him! Oh God."

Sugar waited for a break in Zacharie's rant, "I guarantee it's not your fault. Whatever Batter's malfunction is has nothing to do with you."

"How could you know? You weren't there; you didn't see his face."

"True. Maybe if you told me what happened, I could understand what his issue is." Sugar slipped in an opportunity for Zacharie to vent, knowing that was what he needed. Though, she was certainly curious too.

Zacharie hesitated to speak, "So... So you know already that Batter and I sort of..."

Sugar shook her head in a moment of humor, "I still can't understand it, but yeah." She realized she was smirking and stopped herself, Zacharie's voice reminding her that this wasn't carefree gossip.

"I asked Batter if he had told Queenie about me and him. He said he hadn't yet, but he seemed so much more upset, like, he apologized to me for it. I told him it was okay and everything, but then I saw that he had a bruise on his cheek and-" Zacharie choked on his words, "His face was bruised and he was shaking and..."

It didn't take Sugar more than a second to understand what Zacharie was saying, but it still seemed surreal. The idea of Batter, the cold and distant jock, being abused by Queenie? _The_ Queenie? The little, five foot two, blonde, sweetheart of Purity High School. This girl was shaking Batter up that badly? From the little Sugar knew about Queenie, it seemed kind of ridiculous.

"So, I pulled him aside and... I gave him this whole hypocritical spiel about how he should stand up for himself! I basically gave him the 'you can't please everyone, only accept what you deserve' bullshit that you've been giving me for years! I-Its not bullshit when you say it, but God it felt so wrong telling that to someone else. Who do I think I am?" Zacharie vomited forth the words like they were painful to have inside of him.

Sugar froze up further. She knew that giving advice was inherently hypocritical, that she had felt like a complete hypocrite all those years helping Zacharie. But did Zacharie honestly think that him helping Batter was any different from her helping him?

"Zach, helping someone, regardless of how hypocritical it is, isn't bad. If you really care about them and you can really help them, then it isn't wrong."

"Yeah, but I didn't help him, Sugar! I told him that... Oh God, I spouted some cliche lovey-dovey nonsense and that just shook him up even more. Now he wants nothing to do with either of us!" Sugar could hear Zacharie's voice crack, "He wants nothing to do with me!"

Sugar sucked in a short breath, "Okay. Zacharie. Has Batter ever lied to us?"

"No..."

"Then get the idea that he doesn't like you out of your head. I heard him say that he cared about you. So just stop thinking that." Zacharie didn't respond and Sugar took this as a sign that he might be calming down. She decided to keep going.

"Now, Batter is not someone who's very open with what he's feeling. I think you may have just overwhelmed him. I think he just needs time..." She tried to explain, "That is if you want to give it to him. You don't owe a walking, breathing dildo anything."

Zacharie laughed quietly and nervously, the tension in his tone not seeming to waver, "Yeah... I guess you're right..."

* * *

"Sweetie, you haven't eaten anything." Batter lifted his head to make eye contact with his mother for a moment, only to drop his vision back down to his full plate. Batter's mother knew her son wasn't talkative, but she could tell when there was something wrong. It didn't take long for her to figure out what was bothering him.

She quietly sat down at the dinner table, folding her hands and looking in a random direction, "I haven't seen Sugar or Zacharie around here lately... Are you not friends with them anymore?" She asked in a manner that made it seem like nothing more than a passing comment.

Batter sat up a bit in his seat, hardly knowing the answer himself. What could he tell her? That he hadn't spoken to Sugar or Zacharie for the past week? Because he was afraid of losing his old friends, like Sam or Tim? Because he was afraid of letting down Queenie who depended on him so much? Because the only thing he could really think about was what Zacharie had said to him- Actually, he just couldn't stop thinking about Zacharie.

All of these things piled and climbed on top of each other, cramming Batter's mind with anxiety and forcing him to take no action whatsoever. He allowed himself to slip back into his old relationships, his old habits, setting everything back to how it was before he met Sugar and Zacharie.

Batter's mother understood that she wasn't going to get anything out of him; whatever was upsetting him, it was upsetting him too much for him to speak on it. She lightly sighed, "When I went to your high school, you know I was on the cheerleading team. I had lots of friends and everything seemed to work out just fine for me. Your father was my complete opposite. He didn't talk much and he had the worst of luck. My friends and I would pick on him all the time."

"One way or another, your father and I fell in love. None of my friends wanted to believe me, but when they did, they cast me out of their clique. I dropped out of cheerleading because they were so mean to me. I was sad and regretted my decision for a while."

Batter's mother reached out and took his hand, "But then I realized that I still had your father and that your father loved me far more than any of those girls did. It was okay that they weren't my friends anymore, because I didn't want to be their friends either. They weren't true friends if they couldn't support me. I made new and better friends and ended up happy regardless of what those girls did."

"It's okay to cut people out of your life, sweetie," Batter's mother leaned up to place a kiss on his forehead, "Just make sure you're cutting out the right people."


	7. Chapter 7

Queenie toted her boyfriend through the hallways with a new sense of pride. She looked up at Batter's face and was pleased by his emotionless, yet submissive demeanor. She looked around and saw the envious faces of her friends. She spotted Sugar, who immediately averted her gaze when she noticed Batter.

She was in control. This feeling of victory filled her up inside and she glowed with satisfaction. Batter, her friends, even people she hardly knew, all knew their place and no longer encroached on what she had; what she deserved and most desperately needed.

Queenie took a firm grip on Batter's arm. It had been a week or two since he had spoken to those outcasts. That time was instead spent with her and people who didn't threaten her relationship. She held him tightly and felt as though, were she prompted to do so, she could break his arm in half before he moved from her side.

Batter could feel the lump in his throat that frequently formed when Queenie was around. Her tightened grip was frightening, but comforting in a way he could not fully understand. Yes, she was forcing him to stay in place, but he wasn't sure if he even wanted to move.

However, as they turned the corner to the school lobby, he felt differently; uncomfortable and angry, "Hello Kitty, why do you wear that stupid ass mask?" Tim's voice rang out clearly and obnoxiously, followed by a chorus of throaty laughs.

"He wears it cause his face so ratchet, he can't show it in school."

"I heard your daddy burnt your face off before he walked out on you and your skank-ass mom."

The boys surrounded the school store booth where Zacharie was sitting, making it so that Batter couldn't see much past them. He looked around briefly, wondering if anyone was going to step in and stop them.

Memories of when Batter had done the same thing to other kids rang in his head. Pushing them up against lockers, calling them names, even a few swirlies came to mind... He asked himself why this was any different, seeing as those situations never ended with anyone helping the victim. Yet, he knew the reason why this upset him so thoroughly.

And that reason was in the process of being dragged out from behind the booth. Batter watched in petrification, thinking this was something similar to a car accident. It was horrible, but he couldn't move; couldn't speak or do anything to stop it.

Queenie's hand reached up and turned Batter's face away from the scene. He looked at her, but he still felt like he was staring at his friends. Were they really his friends? No. No, he couldn't call them that.

"Batter, stop looking at them. It doesn't matter." Queenie spoke with a warning in her voice, but the longer she looked at him, the harder she thought. What was threatening her? Zacharie, no doubt, but what about him...? The fact that he was in danger?

Queenie removed her hand and turned on her heel towards the fight, "Hey!" She shouted and the boys turned their attention to her. Tim was holding Zacharie up by his shirt, but dropped him quickly, turning to Queenie with a sly grin, "Whatever it is you're doing, stop it."

Tim's smile widened as he caught sight of Batter in the background, "What? Batter's too scared to come and talk for himself?"

Queenie took a deep breath, swallowing the rage inside of her. She smiled back at him, her anger manifesting in her eyes, "Listen to me very clearly. I don't like you and I don't like the freak either. Actually, I hate him." She glanced at Zacharie for a moment, hoping he would remember her words, then looked back to Tim, "But, if you upset Batter in any way, i'll make sure you regret it."

Tim stared at Queenie for a moment, shocked. He looked to his two friends in disbelief. Sweet little Queenie couldn't actually be that menacing? He then settled his attention back on Queenie, leaned forward, and laughed as loudly as he could to cover his uneasiness.

Though his friends only had a short chance to laugh along, as Queenie sunk the tip of her heel into Tim's crotch. He shouted out and fell to his knees next to Zacharie, "You crazy-!" He tried to curse, but the breath had been knocked out of him.

Batter rushed up at this point, finally finding the will to move, "Why did you do that?!" He questioned in shock, but Queenie ignored him, instead looking down on Tim with an unreasonable amount of anger.

"That's just the start if you continue to fuck with me." She spoke lowly, then, surprisingly, turned her gaze to Zacharie, "Take this as a fucking warning. If you ever try to take Batter away from me, I swear I will fucking _kill_ you!" Her voice increased in volume and instability, amounting to something of an animalistic screech.

Batter took a hold of her arm and began dragging her away from the scene. He couldn't bring himself to look at Tim or Zacharie. He couldn't do anything but run away.

* * *

_ Whack!_

Batter swung hard, knocking another baseball up against the fence with a loud thud.

_Whack!_

Again and again, over and over, he swung his bat and heard the unsatisfying clatter of metal. It was better than talking, though. Better than thinking and certainly better than feeling. Though, it was nearly impossible to disconnect from his brain.

_ Whack!_

This might have been his goal the entire time, he thought. Maybe he was sabotaging himself into isolation, making it so that anyone that cared about him was frustrated enough that they would give up and leave him alone. Zacharie, Queenie... Everyone would stop confusing him and he could just go back to being ignorant and unfeeling; back to when hitting baseballs like this was a comfort and not an excuse for inaction.

"Batter!" He heard his name, turning towards the voice that wasn't the one moping inside of his head.

To his surprise, Sugar was walking in his direction. Not so surprisingly, she looked unhappy. Well, maybe she looked a little pissed off. The closer she got, the clearer her displeasure became. Raised eyebrows, mildly pouting lips, and daggers for eyes stood out from the rest of her face, each one sending off a red flag in Batter's mind.

"We need to talk. I know you don't want to, but we're going to have a goddamn talk." Sugar stepped in front of him, taking the baseball bat from Batter's limp grip. She tossed it to the side and crossed her arms.

"About what?" Batter asked dumbly, thinking he had to respond. Sugar rolled her eyes.

"You never have anything intelligent to say, do you? Ok, no. I didn't come to be mean or to yell at you. We're going to have a calm, civil discussion about why you can't seem to get your shit together." Batter cocked his head to the side and she grew a little flustered, "Don't think I'm your friend because I'm talking to you."

"You and Queenie have your own relationship and it is none of my business, but when you drag Zacharie into your sadomasochism, that's when it becomes my business. See, I care more about Zach than I will ever care about you. He means everything to me and I know he means something to you. Don't just throw him away like sad trash because you can't settle your own goddamn relationship problems."

Sugar paused and took breath, "Why do you even stay with Queenie?"

That was a simple question with a highly complex answer Batter didn't understand, "I... She needs me I guess..." Batter spoke quietly and Sugar frowned, "Nobody really knows this, but she's sick. Like, she can't control herself. She tells me all the time that she has nobody else but me to help her."

Batter was surprised at himself when he continued to speak, "She is a good person. I know it and I just don't feel like I can abandon her when she relies on me. She's my friend and..."

"And you know deep down that you love her and she loves you and for some reason you're willing to put up with it because of that." Sugar finished for him and he looked at her with confusion in his eyes. She shrugged, "It just sounds familiar."

"You have a lot more in common with Zach than you think. No wonder you like him so much." Batter looked away in embarrassment and Sugar sighed, feeling that bizarre mixture of attraction, frustration, and pity she always seemed to feel for him.

"Batter, why do you think he wears a mask?"


	8. Chapter 8

Sugar asked the question hesitantly, clearly not wanting to share something so personal. Yet, she knew she had to tell Batter if she wanted him to understand why she was so worried for Zacharie. She was terrified that Batter was sending him straight back to that dark place she tried so hard to drag him out of.

To Sugar, he was a dangerous person, but if he had any sort of compassion and understanding, he would stop once he understood.

Batter was caught off guard by that. Honestly, he had never given any thought as to why Zacharie wore his masks. All he could remember thinking about was how frustrating it was to never see his face.

Batter had no idea as to what Zacharie's face looked like. Before last summer, Batter would never have noticed Zacharie; unless, maybe, if him and his friends were harassing him. There was a good chance that he did bully Zacharie in the past, but, inevitably, he still couldn't remember his face. Batter wondered for a moment as to what Zacharie could have looked like. Most likely weak and insecure, if he had bullied him that is. Green eyes, maybe brown?

He opened his mouth to speak, but realized he had no answer. Sugar understood his silence and shrugged, "It's not like anyone would really guess it, but I thought you might have a clue by now?" Sugar chuckled shortly, quietly, cynically, "Just shows how little you actually know about him."

That hurt, but it was the truth. No matter how deeply he felt for Zacharie, nothing too deep had been shared between the two.

"There's a reason you haven't met Zach's parents or seen him anywhere but my house. I've never met his parents either. I don't know much about his mom, but his dad hurt Zach; not always physically. It was more psychological than anything else. Zacharie, regardless of how bad his father was to him, he always... He liked to blame himself for it." Sugar took a short pause. She ached just thinking about the pain Zacharie went through.

"He self-harmed for a while. Soon enough his whole body was covered in scars, I just... It was really bad. Summer came along this year and his mother finally got the courage to do something about it. She called the police and Zach's dad got taken away. That was sort of a tipping point for him, he felt so much guilt... He cut up his face and had to go to the hospital for it, it was that bad."

"After that, he couldn't stay with his family anymore and I convinced my parents to let him live with us. They were never around, so they didn't care one way or the other. It was really tough watching him go through that." She placed a hand over her face and sighed in a way that registered with Batter. This was all real. She wasn't making this up, "I tried my best to get him to a better state of mind, and I suggested the masks. We made them together as a way of keeping his mind off of the bad stuff; kinda like therapy, you know?"

Sugar moved her arms so that they were now crossed and gave Batter almost a pleading look, if that was something Sugar could ever bring herself to do, "So, do you understand now? Why i'm so worried for him? Why i'm so worried about what you'll do to him; what he'll let you do?" Sugar continued to look at Batter for any sign of emotion or comprehension, "I know you can be unbelievably dense, but you have to understand this much. Just show me that you care-"

Sugar stopped herself when she noticed tears starting to brim along Batter's eyes. He quickly turned away, not wanting her to see how devastated he was. It had never crossed Batter's mind that the masks covered something so sad.

Batter felt the same anger boil up within him that he seemed to always feel when Zacharie was threatened, but amplified and more painful than any time before. This time, the damage was already done. Zacharie's father... It struck him that Sugar thought he was the same as that man. In a way, maybe he was? It scared him to think about it.

That fear showed clearly on his face. Sugar thought that it was somehow refreshing to see Batter so upset about something, even if she'd felt that same pain herself many times before. Sugar found that empathetic ache clench up her chest, sending her forward towards Batter as he tried hard to blink back his tears.

Sugar took a hold of his hand and Batter felt a tremor shoot up his arm. The fact that affectionate contact caused him such discomfort made it that much harder to keep from sobbing. Despite the shivers she caused, Batter managed to take a hold of her hand, to both of their surprise.

Sugar looked away and managed to lower her voice, "I came here to tell you what I needed to say, but I- I see that maybe you... Maybe you don't have it as easy as I'd thought." She gave his hand a light squeeze, "I think you should talk to him." Sugar thought how ironic it was that she wanted the exact opposite before.

* * *

"He should be in his room. You can call me if you need anything, ok?" Batter marveled at how differently she spoke now. How her voice carried none of the accusation it held before, but instead felt comforting. He swallowed hard and nodded slightly before Sugar left through the front door.

Batter stood there for a moment, wondering if he should talk to him; if he could talk to him if he wanted to. After knowing how much pain he'd already caused, enough to cause Sugar to confront him, could he really face him?

He turned slowly and moved up the staircase, making his way to the room he had visited quite a few times in the past. He hoped that when he reached the top and opened the door, he'd hear the same voice call out to him as he'd heard before; that he'd see the same boy, sitting on the bed, beckoning to him; that he could walk in like he belonged there, sit next to him, and hold his hand, and maybe be happy for a while.

He stood before the door now, having moved a little faster than he had intended to, and stared at the tiny fissures in the wood; anything to keep from confronting him. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he felt so grateful for an interruption. He removed it from his pocket to see Queenie's name bright on the screen. He immediately shoved the phone back into his pocket and reminded himself that she wasn't there as he cringed instinctively. He pushed the idea of Queenie out of his mind for that moment; or at least he tried to.

He decided to knock instead of barging in, because right then he didn't feel like he belonged there. He felt like he belonged in a deep, dark cave, somewhere far away from Zacharie where he couldn't interfere in his life.

When he didn't receive a response, Batter shut his eyes tightly in discomfort and frustration. He had to say his name. He hardly felt like he could breathe, let alone talk to him, "Zach-" His voice cracked and he coughed a bit to clear his throat, "Zacharie."

He waited again for recognition and began to grow even more anxious. Was he ignoring him? Did he not want to speak to Batter; look at him, even? He couldn't blame him either way. He looked down at his watch, not daring to look at his phone, and saw that it was nearing ten o'clock at night. Maybe he was asleep?

Batter forced himself forward, opening the door gently as to not wake Zacharie if he was sleeping. He looked inside and the lights were off. Batter thought he must be in bed, but a glance to the side revealed that the bathroom light was on and the door ajar. Zacharie wasn't known to sleep with any lighting into his room.

Batter took a step inside and, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that Zacharie's bed was empty. He gathered that he must be in the bathroom and that he may not have heard him before. Batter knocked on the wall next to the bathroom's entrance and called out again, "Zacharie?"

When he was met with silence for the third time, he grew suspicious. Maybe he wasn't in his room at all? Where would he be outside of his room if Sugar said he'd be there? He decided to disregard privacy for the sake of curiosity as he entered the bathroom, attempting to affirm that Zacharie wasn't in his room after all.

"Zach-" Batter spoke one more time before choking on the name as it made its way through his throat.


End file.
